More people receiving long-term care following years of decline
The number of people using council-arranged long-term adult social care in England grew in 2022-23 following years of decline, official data has shown.
Overall, 835,335 people received long-term care during the year, up 2.1% on 2021-22, when 817,995 people were given a service, showed the figures from NHS England.
This figure had declined year on year from a high of 872,520 since 2015-16, with the exception of 2020-21, where numbers may have been inflated by the inclusion of people receiving Covid-19 post-discharge provision.
There was also a 2.5% increase, from 613,510 to 629,050, in the numbers receiving long-term care at the end of 2022-23, halting a year on year decline in that figure since 2016-17.
The growth in numbers in 2022-23 came across all service settings – nursing homes, residential homes and community-based care – and among both people aged 65 and over and those aged 18-64.
Spending increase
Councils also significantly increased their spending on long-term care from 2021-22 to 2022-23, by 11.2% in cash terms (£1.9bn), more than the overall rate of growth in gross adult social care expenditure (7.9%).
Overall, authorities spent £18.4bn on long-term care, 77.8% of their total gross spend (£23.7bn).
The high rate of inflation during the year meant that the 7.9% increase in overall spending was worth just an extra 1.1% in real terms, the sixth consecutive inflation-busting rise in expenditure by authorities.
Additional funding for social care
Since the end of the 2022-23 year, the government has increased investment in adult social care, making available for 2023-25:
- £3.2bn extra through the existing social care grant, with 60% expected to be spent on adults’ services and 40% on children’s services.
- £1.6bn to tackle delayed discharges, with the funding split between councils and NHS integrated care boards.
- £1.6bn through increasing the adult social care council tax precept by 2% and raising standard council tax by 3% in each year.
- £1.08bn through the market sustainability and improvement fund, designed to help councils increase provider fees, tackle waiting lists and boost recruitment and retention.
- £570m through a separate market sustainability and improvement fund – workforce fund, which has the same objectives but is particularly focused on tackling staff shortages.
Resource boost ‘inadequate’, say council heads
However, councils have retorted that the extra money is inadequate, both because of levels of demand and increased costs.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) reported that 250,000 people were awaiting a needs assessment as of August 2023, up 11% since March 2023, according to its research with directors.
And the County Councils Network has warned that the 10% rise in the national living wage in April 2024 risks precipitating adult social care cuts without further government investment to enable authorities to fund the rise through provider fees.